The Federal Communications Commission is looking to take up the net neutrality issue at its February open meeting.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will circulate his final proposal to his fellow commissioners next month so that they can vote on it at the Feb. 26 meeting.

An FCC spokeswoman confirmed that Chairman Wheeler intends to circulate an Open Internet order in February.

At this point, however, we don't actually know what that proposal will include. After having it rules struck down twice in court, the FCC is looking to pass rules that will actually stick this time around. But one of Wheeler's proposals - that ISPs be allowed to pay for priority Web access - was met with a firestorm of criticism given that it was seemingly the opposite of what net neutrality hoped to accomplish.

Eventually, Wheeler watered down his proposal, and in May 2014, the FCC voted to move ahead with a net neutrality rulemaking that simply asked stakeholders for their opinions on what the FCC should do.

By the time the public comment period was over, the FCC had more than 3 million submissions to wade through, prompting the agency to push off any final decision on the matter until 2015.

Among the more controversial routes the FCC could take - a move backed by President Obama - is re-classifying broadband as a telecom service rather than an information service. That would give the FCC clear authority over the ISPs and make it more likely that the agency would prevail in future court battles.

ISPs, however, think this is the worst possible solution on the planet, and the horrified reaction was swift when Obama backed re-classification (also known as Title II for its placement in the Communications Act). AT&T has even paused its gigabit Internet rollout amidst the uncertainty surrounding net neutrality. Wheeler has not committed to using Title II in his rulemaking, so we'll just have to see what he ends up circulating next month.

The easiest way to get net neutrality rules on the books? Congress. But the GOP has long pushed back on any such legislation, and with Republicans taking control of the Senate later this month, the likelihood of a net neutrality bill getting through both chambers looks bleak.

About the Author

Before joining PCMag.com, Chloe covered financial IT for Incisive Media in NYC and technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's deg... See Full Bio

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